Rio Tinto Alcan executive, Christophe Villemin, selected among 245 distinguished young leaders as a Young Global Leader 2008 of the World Economic Forum

11 March 2008

Rio Tinto Alcan is proud to announce that Christophe Villemin, president, Specialty Sheets, Engineered Products, has been selected as a Young Global Leader 2008 of the World Economic Forum (WEF). Every year, the WEF acknowledges and honours the globe’s top 200 to 300 young leaders for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to help shape the future of the world.

“Throughout his successful career at Rio Tinto Alcan, Christophe has always shown a remarkable and natural ability to make intelligent and socially responsive business decisions,” said Dick Evans, chief executive, Rio Tinto Alcan. “His active personal involvement in health, safety and the environment, sustainability and climate issues, was instrumental in the development of the innovative solar cooker concept. Today in Indonesia and Africa, the solar cooker is helping improve the well-being of local populations and reduce their environmental impact.”

The Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGL) was created in 2004 by Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the WEF, and works in close collaboration with the WEF. The Forum is a unique, diverse and global community of the world’s most outstanding leaders under the age of 40. These next-generation leaders commit a portion of their time to shaping a better future, thereby improving the state of the world. The Forum currently includes 650 young business, social, political, intellectual and cultural leaders from more than 100 countries.

Drawn from a pool of almost 5,000 candidates, the YGL 2008 were chosen by a selection committee composed of 31 eminent international media leaders and chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. "It is our privilege to work with such inspirational leaders and to bring them together in a global network that builds their insights and skills even further, providing them with an international platform to tackle the key challenges of our generation,” said David Aikman, senior director and head of the Forum of Young Global Leaders

The YGL 2008 include 121 leaders from 65 countries. Joining Mr. Villemin this year are H.R.H. King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, King of Bhutan; John R. Baird, Canadian minister of the Environment; Anderson Cooper, anchor of CNN’s 360°; Leonardo DiCaprio, actor; Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo; Anoushka Shankar, musician; Rama Yade, France’s minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights; and, among others, Mia Hamm, founder of the Mia Hamm Foundation.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.